The Crownless
by sahdfkljhalkdjf
Summary: AU. I will never turn my back on people who need me. Where are the Air Nomads, where is the Avatar, what's wrong with the Fire Lord? When a young Airbender from Katara's dreams starts asking for her help, to what lengths will she go to, to save him? A story about war, finding your destiny and bringing balance to the world. This doesn't make sense, does it? Just read! Like it!


**Author's Note: **This story is slightly AU, only because some of the canon characters will have different circumstances, such as age, parents, nationality and others.

They may seem kind of out of character in the beginning but only because of their circumstances, they will change and evolve as the story goes on, to become the characters that we know and love.

Any questions or concerns are welcomed.

**Summary: **AU. /I will never turn my back on people who need me/ When a young Airbender from Katara's dreams starts asking for her help, to what lengths will she go to, to save him? A story about war, finding your destiny and bringing balance to the world.

**Word Count: **6, 184

**Rating: **Rated T, for slight violence and gore. Mature subject matter.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything associated with it.

* * *

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

-J.R.R Tolkien, (The Lord of the Rings)

* * *

There are _some things_ that are worth understanding, _some things_ that are worth remembering, _some things_ that are worth fighting for, _some things_ that are worth even dying for.

Following your destiny, bringing balance to the world.

I will never turn my back on people who need me.

* * *

The Crownless

Chapter 1

In my Dream I see a Monk

The room is breathtakingly beautiful, along with all the people who are in it. They are all wearing unnecessarily fancy clothing, putting on unnecessarily fancy airs and most of half the people here don't even like each other. I am disgusted.

I am completely bored out of my mind despite all the _action_ going on. I watch the nobles walk around the room, occasionally talking to a few important aristocracies. Most of the people here are Fire Nation, sporting crimson clothing that is oddly reminiscent of blood, with the occasional gold, black tunic or dress. Gran Gran, Sokka and I stuck out like a sore thumb in a sea of red and infrequent green, in our blue tunics. We are dressed rather simply, but Gran Gran insisted on putting my hair up and by doing so it makes my Mother's necklace a lot more obvious around my neck. My clothing is modest as I prefer it to be but I haven't worn anything like it in a long time, I usually wear shorter tunics and Sokka's old pants and I am most of the time, because of the harsh weather of the South Pole, covered by several layers of fur. My tunic consists of a light blue dress that is slightly torn at the bottom from earlier today when, I ran after Sokka for making fun of my bending. _GranGran got really mad at me for that_. A kimono-like tunic covers the dress and gives it more flair and elegance, it isn't even close to the styles here, but it is suitable for a party in my opinion and suits me just fine since it gives me enough room to move around and still be comfortable.

Nobody bothers approaching Gran Gran and me, we aren't very popular amongst them or rich for that matter and we don't come from any noble blood. We're just a hard working family, with an intelligent father who is generally well liked by a lot of important people from various nations who, tend to hold his opinion in high value and who, sometimes need his help when it comes to making important decisions.

Our family has been associated with several different courts for years but only by invitation, we were by and large well respected and so, made friends easily. Gran Gran unfortunately was not fit for that kind of lifestyle because of her straightforwardness, which was why she had left the Northern Water Tribe all those years ago. She didn't like the restrictions that fell upon certain members of society and left to go to the Southern Water Tribe where there was much more freedom.

Sokka deals with everyone else in a completely different manner. He has a certain charm, if it could even be called that, a nice sense of humour, is decently handsome, and has enough charisma and intelligence to last a lifetime in court. Even though he is slightly goofy, his intelligence would stop him from falling for anyone's tricks or deceits. And with his knowledge of worldly affairs, can manage to seem mature enough to talk with a lot of important people who could find him very promising. He also developed over the years a passion for science and inventing which would come in handy in the future. He is also a very capable warrior _in the making_, in my opinion; he still had _a lot_ of work to do if he wanted to even come close to the level of my Father's fighting abilities.

For the past few days we've been attending party after party while several leaders from each of the Four Nations participate in very important meetings that can, in Father's opinion, change the face of the world. Father participates in almost all of these get-togethers though he isn't allowed to say what they're about. Either way, they seem to be very stressful and were starting to have an effect on him; he came back to our suite most of the time very tired and angry.

Even if we have no idea of what exactly those get-togethers are about, Sokka has a hunch. He thinks that whatever those meetings are about, they have to do with the fact that no Airbenders were invited to the Fire Nation for the past few days. It wasn't much of a difference from any other gathering; Air Nomads are known to be a peaceful people, so they rarely attended such things, only if it was truly necessary or if they were in a high position in their council, though usually it was a custom to at least have a group of Airbenders to represent their native Nation. I can't help but notice that even if no Airbenders are present, there should still be a larger number of people from the Earth Kingdom and from the Water Tribes.

Gran Gran says that the only reason we are here are for diplomatic reasons, and yet she still deems me too young to tell me anything about anything going on in the world beyond my little Water Tribe village. She says I'm either too young, or too innocent, or something about young women shouldn't worry about such things. I sometimes feel frustrated knowing that Sokka knows more about what's going on than I do, and everyone knows I'm a lot more mature than him.

Thinking of Sokka makes me look for him; I had lost sight of him a couple of minutes ago and am starting to get a little worried, when he had strayed to the balcony with a group of girls at his tail. I laugh at the thought. _Who knew Sokka could be such a ladies man?_ I decide to go looking for him but not before hesitantly looking at my Gran Gran feeling slightly guilty for thinking of leaving her side. Though, as if my Gran Gran knew what I was thinking about, she nudges me a little harder than necessary in the shoulder and I take it as permission to go off.

Sitting in the sidelines with my Gran Gran had prevented me from seeing the true wonder of the room. The walls are initially painted a dark mahogany red, with a variety of different gold ornaments that drooped at the top of the walls and an elaborate golden lining that follows all the walls adjacent to each other. At the front of the room stands a portrait of Fire Lord Sozin, it must have been recently made since I had never seen it before during my previous visits to the Fire Nation Palace. He looks almost angry in this portrait. He has a frown on his face, as though he was deep in thought. He also looks a lot older, his grey and white hair becoming more obvious on his face, which hinted at wrinkles. Fire Lord Sozin is known to be a very talented poet, so I am not surprised to see that he has a scroll in his right hand, it probably represents the poetry that he wrote. In his left hand he holds a flame, showing that he is a powerful Firebender. And, at his left side, there is a volcano erupting with lava. In every Fire Lord portrait the sun is always depicted behind their heads, representing every Firebender's main source of power. I notice a comet at the top of it and remember that the comet had caused a lot of commotion a couple of weeks ago. Around that time, the Avatar had started to be considered as an enemy of the Fire Nation despite the fact that he hasn't been discovered yet and by now he would be a child living somewhere in the Air Temples and also happening around that time was something even more strange, a rift had been formed in between the Fire Lord and his grandson for some reason or another. Everyone has their own theories on the subject, some more absurd and disturbing than the other.

I continue to look at the portrait trying to forget all the disconcerting things I heard people whisper about the Fire Prince. I notice some odd things about the Fire Lord's portrait that had caught my attention, at the feet of the Fire Lord there are Soldiers firebending at his feet. They seem menacing enough but I can't understand what relation they would have with the current Fire Lord.

I feel a light tap on my shoulder, and I jump slightly, my heart racing. I turn around almost relieved to see the face of my brother looking at me with slight worry.

"Katara, are you alright?" He says searching my face with his eyes. I never thought that he could be so worried for me, and can't think of a reason why he would be in the first place.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just looking at the Fire Lord's portrait." I say nudging my head towards it.

He lets out a breath of understanding and turns to quickly examine the portrait.

"You know, he looks a little scary."

I can't help but nod at his statement. There was definitely something different about the Fire Lord. But I can't decide if it has something to do with his expression or that the comet looms over his head like a curse or that the volcano reminds me of an incident that had occurred almost a decade ago, one where Avatar Roku perished in boiling magma supposedly dying from the deadly fumes that seeped from it. Or maybe it has something to do with the ominous firebending soldiers that were at his feet as though they are ready to do anything at the Fire Lord's very command.

Sokka lets out a sigh, a sigh that can be interpreted as meaningless but knowing my brother, I can tell that it was a sigh full of trepidation and fear, a sigh that knew so much but so little. He looks towards me and gives me a small smile, a smile I can't help but return.

"Anyway, you won't believe who I met…" He says with excitement, practically jumping up and down.

"Who did you meet, Sokka?" I say with exasperation.

"You know those girls I was talking to earlier?" He says not waiting for me to respond, "Well one of them is friends with Princess Azula, and she wanted her to meet me…."

I nod, telling him to continue.

"So I meet her, right? And you know she seems friendly enough," his hands flay around as he talks "though there's something weird about her. She's really pretty but…terrifying and not in a good way." He says with apprehension.

I smile at what he just said and laugh earning me glare from Sokka. Only Sokka could find a girl terrifying _in a good way_.

"Besides that…She wanted me, us, our family to be invited to dine tomorrow with…uh…her family and close friends…" He says growing slightly nervous.

"Well, what did you say?" I whisper growing faintly anxious. Fire Nation Royalty was not something you wanted to mess around with.

"I said…yes." He whispers back, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence, making me remember that he is going through a precarious time; teenage hood. Despite the situation, I can't help but laugh.

I sigh.

"Sokka, you couldn't have done anything differently. It would've been rude if you said no and…well…you'll just have to explain it to Dad that's all." I say trying to reassure him the best way that I could. I see that Sokka is nervous about what had transpired between him and the Princess but it was no reason to get so worked up about it.

"Oh, Katara," he says almost angrily, "It's not that easy. There are just some things you can't understand."

* * *

Sokka is in a lot of trouble.

When Father had returned late from a meeting last night, and had found out about our invitation to dine with the Fire Lord, he shouted, actually shouted. I had never, ever heard him or seen him do such a thing. He is always very peaceful and kind, not the kind of person to lose his temper.

He took Sokka away from the main suite and had a long discussion with him. A discussion I had tried listening to, much to Gran Gran's disappointment. I could only hear snippets of their conversation, mostly revolving around Father's frustrations at what Sokka had one, repeatedly mentioning rather loudly that "He should have known better.", and other political subjects ; stuff I don't know about in the first place, stuff that no one bothers explaining to me. All I know now is that Father is very disappointed with Sokka, and as we're heading to the Fire Lord's dining room in our fanciest clothing, I can't help but wonder why.

Like everything else in the Fire Nation Palace, the corridors are lavishly decorated, from the very top of the ceilings to the darkest corners of the floor. I don't really know where to look first, everything is so…_rich_. Once we arrive at the giant, golden doors, leading to the Fire Lord's private dining room, I notice a girl hiding in the shadows wearing the Fire Nation crown and I almost scream. She steps out with a smile on her face, though it doesn't seem very genuine. I realize rather quickly that she must be Azula, the girl who invited Sokka. I can now understand why he had been so frightened of her before.

"How wonderful it is to see you again, Sokka. Your family has arrived just in _time_. The Fire Lord is arriving at any moment now." She says turning towards the doors. Her speech is elegant if not almost haughty, there's an edge to it, one that I can't describe.

We follow her, hesitantly, and I'm not really surprised to see Sokka looking almost nauseous, I probably look worse than him. The doors open revealing a beautiful room, a round large table occupies most of the space in the room, several fluffy blood red cushions are positioned around it and a slightly more elevated seat is placed at the front of the table, probably reserved for the Fire Lord. In the middle of the table there is a small fire burning steadily, that varies slightly in colour but is beautiful all the same, casting a slight shadow on the faces of the people already seated at the table. I sit down next to Sokka, and his shoulders relax a little as though reassured by my presence.

The seating arrangements were obviously hierarchical. The seats closest to the Fire Lord were evidently reserved for his blood relatives since Princess Azula sat further away from everyone else with another boy who wore a slightly more elaborate crown than her, he must be her brother. Five other people sit in the unoccupied spaces; they seem to be already familiar with the environment and are relatively at ease.

A girl sitting opposite to me catches my attention. She is clothed all over in different shades of pink; I would find it almost comical if not for the fact that the color really suits her. She's wearing a braid that is peculiarly indicative of the Water Tribe hairstyles and with the way that she smiles and with her cheerful demeanour I am reminded of the Air Nomads, for their carefree and easy going attitude. I warm up to her instantaneously, she smiles at me and I return it. But while I'm turning my attention away from her, she unexpectedly winks almost obscenely at Sokka, who seems flattered and returns her wink with a witty yet goofy smile. My mouth opens in shock. Yep, she is definitely _friendly_.

Three other people are sitting towards her left, the side away from the Fire Lord. One of them is a boy, who doesn't seem to be any older than eight. He is extremely fidgety but only because of the excitement that seems to want to burst out of him. I am familiar with eight year old boys; they had the power to be incredibly annoying but still kind, most of the time. I smile at him, my _motherly_ nature taking over in spite of myself.

There are two self-important nobles that I previously had the misfortune of speaking to. One of them is Earth Kingdom and the other Fire Nation; they are very gossipy, more gossipy than any old woman from the Water Tribes. But they also have a lot of power and influence, which means that no one can say anything towards or against them. I wonder why they would be invited here in the first place; they aren't very liked amongst people, though still very well-known men.

At the other end of the table, sits the boy with the crown, he looks lonely, though I probably had mistaken his loneliness for broodiness. He looks angry, for a reason unknown to me; he had probably heard all the rumors about him. I would get mad too, if people spoke about me in that way. His head is held up high, as if he is trying to prove his worth. He isn't paying attention to anyone here, and looks to be deep in thought. I blush slightly thinking that in certain circumstances he could've been qualified as being handsome. His face _is_ flawless.

"Stop drooling, Katara," Sokka whispers in my ear making my face even redder than it was before.

"I am not drooling!" I whisper back pinching him hard in his arm, trying to not draw too much attention to myself, people are already giving me weird looks, and I don't want to add on to it.

Sokka just chuckles and holds onto his stomach but I can't decide if it's from laughter or for the fact that he could be hungry, even if he did just eat two hours ago.

The doors open without any announcement and the Fire Lord almost wearily sits down in his seat at the front of his table, calling in the servants to bring in the food. I'm in awe, watching the Fire Lord sit. He looks older than how he did in the portrait and from when I had last seen him, he has a full head of white hair and he looked a lot more tired, not nearly as powerful. He stills commands a lot of authority with a simple gaze regardless of the fact that he could drop dead at any second.

The plate of food that had been put in front of me smells heavenly; my mouth is watering just by looking at it. It is a variety of different Fire Nation delicacies and they are so delicious that they make me temporarily forget about the Fire Lord's harsh gaze. Sokka is all but devouring his food, but thankfully for my brother no one really pays attention to him, except of course for the girl dressed in pink.

"I didn't know your brother like his food so much." She whispers leaning slightly towards me.

"Yeah, you'll have to get used to it." I whisper back, laughing.

The doors once again open with a lot of ruckus, and coming out of those doors is a sharp looking man, who looks like an older version of the boy I had been staring at. He looks meaner and colder, a character reminiscent of Azula.

"I'm sorry Father, I'm late I was detained." He says coldly before sitting at his father's right hand, it's obvious that he holds no obvious affection for his own father other than the respect and servicing attitude required when addressing the Fire Lord.

"Hum…Where is Iroh?" The Fire Lord asks with a raspy voice that could only come with old age.

"He has also been detained by the _meetings_ and sends his excuses for not being able to make it." The Prince says with a carefully guarded tone. Behind his words I can sense a slight cajoling attitude.

"I believe that he is _still_ in mourning," The Prince adds hinting at something.

Ty Lee leans in towards me once again, as though she is about to tell me a secret.

"Prince Iroh lost his son recently. He's very sad about it, you know." She murmurs.

The Fire Lord nods in understand not providing a more sumptuous response at his son's reply. I had never seen the Fire Lord up close before it was only ever at parties where he would be often surrounded by numerous persons, seeing him close up for once and speaking of such private matters, makes me have a completely different opinion of him. So far, it isn't a very flattering opinion.

"Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, how nice to see you and your children here on such a fine occasion, it is indeed a cause to celebrate, don't you think?" He says his voice as raspy as ever, though there is some hidden amusement in his words, as though he knows something that we don't.

"Yes, Fire Lord, it is." My Father says with barely concealed restraint and spite. I wonder at why he would show such obvious hate to someone so powerful, Father always respects everyone.

Instead of being offended at my Father's attitude, he simply laughs, looking almost crazy, his wrinkles becoming more prominent on his face and his chest shacking with laughter, a laughter that is bitter and cold like the rest of him. I notice that his face is a lot broader than his son's, and his hair is also much shorter.

"Your children, I hear are very accomplished. What do they do, what are their talents?" He says with a wild gleam in his eyes, searching me and Sokka's faces eagerly.

I notice my Father rubbing his palms together. He only does that when he's really nervous. He licks his chapped lips and hesitates before answering.

"Sokka enjoys literature and science." He says simply, "Katara is a fine…healer, and has developed an interest in medicine."

The Fire Lord does not seem satisfied with his answer. And I see the nobles at the corner of eyes laughing blatantly.

"And what else? How are their fighting skills?" He asks with that same gleam in his eyes that scares me quite a bit.

"They have both mastered the art of utilizing various weapons." He answers once again with that same straightforwardness and simplicity.

The Fire Lord is once again displeasured.

"Are any of them benders?" He says with a trace of a sigh in his tone.

My Father looks like he's about to attack from the way his posture is so tense. I can see Azula smirking next to the Fire Lord while the boy I was admiring earlier seems almost as tense as my Father; he is also shaking quite a bit.

"Sokka isn't a bender," He says quickly, "But Katara is very skilled at Waterbending, she is considered to be a prodigy."

At the end of his sentence, Father looks defeated, as though he just lost a great battle but there was a note of pride as he spoke of me and it makes me want to smile at the thought.

Fire Lord Sozin has a strange look on his face, one that is indecipherable. Everyone in the room is silent, as though expecting something big from the Fire Lord…the Fire Lord is still calm, still collected.

"Katara was born _two years _before the death of Avatar Roku; she is _only_ a Waterbender and nothing else." My Father states the obvious so palpably that I have to make sure that he isn't joking. What was he doing?

"I'm sure, Hakoda." The Fire Lord says solemnly as if he understands completely what my Father was trying to communicate.

I send a questioning glance at Sokka who turns abruptly away from me, refusing to meet my gaze. I look at Ty Lee whose eyes are fixed on her food, and at the Nobles who are still laughing their heads off and the eight year old boy, is doing the same. Why would such a large variety of people be invited at such a private occasion, what was the point?

I look back at the boy sitting at the Fire Lord's left side and notice that he is even angrier than he was before, and it seems like he is almost trying to stop himself from doing something horrible. Azula, on the other hand looks very pleased with herself, smiling in a way that could almost be considered evil.

"What about your children's talents, Ozai? How are they fairing?" He says, completely forgetting about my Father and my bending abilities.

"Azula has developed an interest in politics, and her tutors say that she is very intelligent, a fine candidate for a _royal_ position." He pauses trying to let that thought sink in, "Her firebending is quite good, I'm sure you'll be impressed." He says in that same stuck up attitude.

"Zuko is…doing _fine _as well; he's been trying to master certain arts of weaponry, including the Dao Blades. His Firebending is mediocre at best" He says with slight disgust.

Zuko, the boy I now know as the one I had been admiring, looks slightly put off and heartbroken. I wonder how deep the rivalry between him and his sister went. I had noticed earlier on, that there was some stiffness in between the two and now that I know that they're siblings, it makes much more sense, the classical story of the Father loving one child more than the other. My heart breaks slightly at the thought.

"How are the meetings coming along, I haven't attended most of them for some time." The Fire Lord asks practically out of nowhere.

At hearing his questions, I immediately perk up. The meetings have become a taboo subject for quite some time, and hearing the people who organized these very meetings talk about them will probably answer most the questions I've been asking myself for some time.

"We are still discussing the Avatar…" Prince Ozai starts hesitantly.

The Prince starts at what had been said, and brusquely gets up shaking the table, making the fire surrounding the room and the one placed in the middle of the table practically explode in an array of golden yellow colors.

"With all due respect, Fire Lord," He interrupts tersely. Though his words are meant to be polite, his tone indicates something completely different, "I believe…that the Airbenders should have a part in this, don't you think? I mean, you invited the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes; it's only fair that you invite the Air Nomads." He says in a crazed tone and it's the first time I notice that he has darkness around his eyes, and is very tired almost as tired as the Fire Lord.

My heart beats uncontrollably at his words and I feel myself having difficulty breathing. Whatever he is trying to say, is very important I can feel it, whatever he is trying to say is going to change my life.

_What had happened to the Airbenders? Why aren't they here? _I imagine a small group of Airbenders disappearing one by one, gone forever. No matter how hard I tried they would disappear in a sea of mist.

"Zuko, that's enough." His father says sharply, urging him to sit down.

Zuko ignores him completely.

"Why don't you invite them, Fire Lord? Where did they go?" He says, his voice cracking at the end from emotion.

The Fire Lord looks slightly shocked at his words, but he has a smile on his face, a smile that shows that he still knows something that we don't. Despite his proud attitude, he is shaking, shaking from fear, and he doesn't even know it. Fear I didn't know could overcome someone so powerful.

There is complete silence that falls onto the room, a dead silence.

"Prince Zuko, I challenge you to an Agni Kai." A voice says firmly, a voice that I recognize to be his Father's.

* * *

"What do you want?" He spits at me in contempt, looking at me with a look of utter annoyance. His face is as tired looking as ever. His face a pasty pale and the skin around his eyes a disturbing purple, that can only come from many sleepless nights.

I swallow a small lump in my throat, trying to calm my beating heart. Sweat is storming down my cheeks and I feel tears being put into the mix.

I stop my trembling hands and look at him straight in his golden eyes.

"What happened to the Airbenders? Why aren't they here?" I say my voice faltering in the end.

Prince Zuko seems surprised for a moment, his eyes widening and his mouth opening in shock. He searches my face as looking for any sign of deceit and is almost in what looks to be disbelief.

Ever since diner with the Fire Lord, I had been looking all over for the Prince, searching all through the Palace grounds for a sign of him. I had asked everyone if they had seen him and no one could give me an answer. I didn't expect him to be so out in the open after being challenged to an Agni Kai by his own, but I needed to find him. During diner, I had experienced fright and abandonment, something I didn't truly experience at its full force since my Mother died. During that small moment, I felt like the ground under my feet wasn't sturdy enough to hold me that the breaths that I took weren't enough to keep me alive, that the blood that rushed through my veins was nothing but smoke. My mind went through so many different possibilities and situations at what Zuko could've hinted at during diner, and none of them satisfied me. I needed to know the truth. I didn't know what relation I could possibly have with the Air Nomads but when I had thought of something horrible happening to them, it felt like my heart had been ripped out.

"I knew you were naïve, but I didn't think you were that naïve," He says sarcastically looking at me with that annoying contempt.

I sigh in exasperation and attempt to keep my cool.

"Look, I know you're going through a tough time but…"I start saying compassionately, hoping that he would understand that I was on his side.

"You know _nothing_ about me!" He shouts suddenly.

I make a mental note; Fire Princes do not react well to compassion.

I take in a deep breath, remembering all those meditation lessons Master Pakku had made me go through. _Push and Pull. Push and Pull._

"Alright, I may not know much about you, but that doesn't matter because we have a common need; the need to know more. I have some information that you might find interesting and you have some information that everyone else refuses to give to me." I say trying my best to sound calm in contrast to his angry self.

"What could you know that would possibly be any worth to me?" He says conceitedly.

I think, going through all that I knew about the Fire Prince. I could tell him about all the rumors that I've heard, but, I don't feel comfortable about repeating some of the words that were used and Zuko doesn't seem like the kind to gossip.

"Not much." I answer in a whisper.

He laughs cruelly at me which made me remember how much I hated it when people undermined my abilities. I send him mocking faces in return which surprisingly makes him shut up, looking staggered; he must've not expected me to stoop to his level.

"How about this, you tell me everything you know about the meeting and the Airbenders and I'll be in your debt, until you call it off." I say hesitantly looking down at my shoes. "Deal?" I say with more confidence, extending my hand towards him.

He contemplates for a moment, looking at me skeptically.

"Swear on your honor."

I am confused for a moment but remember the importance of honor in the Fire Nation. Honor is something that they fought over, something that kept people together.

"I swear on my honor." I say solemnly putting my right hand to my heart.

"If I have to do it, you have to do it too." I say almost childishly.

"I swear on my honor." Even if he had an outright horrible personality I can't help but think of how handsome he was. His features were common around here but to me they looked exotic. He had a timeless face the kind of face that would be described as the face of the perfect prince charming. The kind of princes I had read about as a little girl.

I nod towards him shaking away my thoughts, pleased at what I had accomplished in doing and motion for him to start talking.

"You might want to sit down…it's kind of a long story." He says motioning for me to sit in a spot opposite from him, the spot nearer to the lake where I had found him sitting at before.

I sit down getting comfortable regardless that I am basically shaking in fear and nervousness. My heart is beating a mile an hour and I have goose bumps all over my skin

"It all started with Avatar Roku." He says bitterly, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. "Fire Lord Sozin had certain _plans_ for the Fire Nation, plans that were against many ideals and beliefs; the Avatar was adamantly against all of these plans and openly opposed the Fire Lord. My…_Grandfather_ and he were pretty close, but I guess that closeness wasn't enough, since twelve years ago, the Avatar died."

"No one really believes that the Fire Lord killed him but I do and…"he says looking up at me uncertainly, "so did my mother."

I try to swallow down a gasp urging to come out of my mouth. But Zuko sends me a look that warns me to shut up.

"Later on, a new Avatar was born…to the Air Nomads. And if Avatar Roku opposed the Fire Nation, then what would stop the new Avatar to do the same?" He says calmly though I hear his voice speaking volumes.

My heart shatters and I feel like I lost my breath, my heart plummeting to the dark. Tears are springing out my eyes and my entire body is trembling.

"So since, all Air Nomads are Airbenders by default, he…"

"No, no, no…" I say shaking my head. "It can't be true…" I say gasping for breath, "All those...people."

I say getting up not realizing that I had formed a giant wave behind me with the lake water and that I was getting everything wet.

"All those people…" I whisper echoing my sentence.

I sob. That feeling of complete loss and instability returns and I feel misplaced. Lost.

* * *

_A small boy clothed in an orange shawl, sits cross-legged on the floor of an Air Temple. He looks peaceful. He has arrows on his forehead, which shows that he's already a master Airbender even at such a young age. The arrows on his forehead and arms are glowing a blinding white light and when he suddenly opens his eyes, they are glowing strangely as though he is caught in a dream. The boy has an innocent look on his face, a look that contains wisdom, that contains intelligence, that contains power. He is somewhat of an inspiration, someone to look up to, someone who would save the day._

_His mouth is whispering something over and over again, something unintelligible. When suddenly blood splatters on his clothing and he looks to be in severe pain. His body is convulsing and twisting and no one is there to help him. His mouth opens in shock, and a strange heartbreaking gasping noise fills the air. A strong steady breeze blows everywhere and it seems like it's about to rain, the ground shakes terribly and the poor boy seems to be frightened. _

_Suddenly, a spark is lit, and the boy catches on fire and this time nothing is stopping him from screaming in loud painful screams._

"_Katara! Katara help me! Katara," The boy cries and cries agonizingly._

I wake up crying, gasping and screaming. No matter how hard I try, I can't erase the bloody, charred face of the boy who haunts my dreams.

* * *

**Author's note: **So I hope you like the first chapter of "The Crownless"!

I was kind of concerned about my writing styles and the conflict between too much dialogues in certain places or not enough, or there isn't enough description. So please tell me if there's anything I should change or add on.

Please comment and review. It helps to know what people think about what you're writing.


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